Starbucks — Restaurant in Garner

Today, I experienced one of the most heartbreaking moments I’ve ever had at a Starbucks. I placed an online order ahead of time, excited to quickly pick up my drink and my cake pop — something I had genuinely been looking forward to all day. I went inside to pick it up, hoping for a smooth, simple experience. Instead, I was met with yet another crushing disappointment when I realized my cake pop was completely missing. I am absolutely devastated.

This isn’t just about a missing item. This was something small I was truly clinging to today — a moment of joy in an otherwise exhausting, emotional week. I walked into the store, found my drink sitting on the mobile order counter, and picked it up, trusting that everything was there. Only when I got to my car did I realize the cake pop was missing. I double-checked my receipt — there it was, clearly paid for and clearly supposed to be included. And yet, once again, Starbucks forgot it. I genuinely sat in my car and cried.

I can’t describe how crushing it felt. It’s not “just a cake pop.” It was something I had been looking forward to, something that made the idea of getting through the day feel a little more bearable. To have it overlooked — again — made me feel invisible and unimportant. It may seem small to some people, but when you’re hanging on by a thread, even the smallest kindnesses (or failures) mean everything. Today, Starbucks failed me when I really needed them not to.

This isn’t the first time they’ve forgotten part of my order. It happens so often at this location that I almost expect it now, but today hurt worse than ever. It’s a repeated carelessness that feels incredibly disrespectful to loyal customers who take the time to order ahead, trust them, and spend their hard-earned money. I didn’t even feel comfortable walking back in to ask for it. I felt like it would be brushed off or treated like an inconvenience. I left feeling humiliated and heartbroken.

I think what hurts the most is that Starbucks promotes this idea of being a comforting place — a “third place” between home and work where you’re valued, where you can relax. But in reality, I felt disposable today. I felt like my order didn’t matter, like my feelings didn’t matter. It’s devastating to realize that a brand you trusted for small moments of happiness can make you feel so invisible when it matters most.

I’m tired of giving them chance after chance. Each time I try to tell myself, “Maybe this time it’ll be right. Maybe this time they’ll care.” But instead, I’m left holding a cup and an empty receipt, no cake pop, and tears running down my face in the parking lot. It’s a terrible feeling — like no matter how much you hope for a little joy, it gets taken away with careless indifference.

There was no apology, no checking to make sure my full order was there. It was just tossed on the counter for me to grab. No care, no consideration. It’s not about being “too busy” — it’s about valuing every customer, even the ones whose orders seem small. Every order matters. Every customer matters. Or at least, we should.

Walking inside and picking up what was supposed to be a complete order, only to find out that once again I was forgotten, broke something in me today. I sat there in the car for longer than I’d like to admit, just trying to hold myself together. It’s exhausting and demoralizing to constantly be let down over something that should be so simple and comforting.

I don’t know if I’ll ever trust this Starbucks location again. It’s heartbreaking to even say that, because Starbucks used to be something I associated with warmth, comfort, and little joys. But after today, it’s hard to separate the brand from the feeling of being utterly let down when I needed something to go right. When something that small feels this devastating, it’s a sign that the company has deeply failed at the thing they promise to deliver.

Starbucks, please understand: it’s never “just a cake pop.” It’s a small light in someone’s very dark day. And today, you took...

4 times in a row they've gotten drink orders wrong. We're not talking about some 15 ingredient delicacy, we're talking coffee + milk sub + one addition.

The employees try to give you a hard time about wanting a straw. I get it, we need to cut back on plastic, but I think the power/water/chemicals I have to use to run the carpet cleaner and washing machine when my 4 y/o inevitably spills her drink all over the car bc she didn't have a straw offsets any earth-saving progress we might have made together, so just give me the straw.

We consitently place mobile orders 15-20 minutes before arriving and every time someone in the drive thru gets an attitude saying "that was JUST placed." How far in advance do I need to place a 3 ingredient order to not get attitude? Ive given 15-20 minutes more notice than a standard drive-thru interaction, what am I doing wrong here?

Editing: It’s gotten better in the last few months. Whoever fixed...

Slow, and not friendly. I went inside and waited for my drink. The manager on duty was very rude and messy. The counters were covered with spilled drinks, excessive old supplies, and toppings that had fallen over or missed the cups. He continued to work tossing things around spilling extra items with no care as to how it landed. He was aware that I was watching and it didn't change his behavior at all. I felt like I was watching my Starbucks drink being made at Walmart. I know that may be a bad analogy, but I gladly spent over $35.00 today. I purchased a beautiful coffee mug, a Venti Peppermint Mocha and my lunch. I choose to go to Starbucks because of the quality...